Richard E. Bonney - Storeys Guide to Keeping Honey Bees: Honey Production, Pollination, Bee Health

S TOREYS G UIDE TO K EEPING H ONEY B EES

Storeys Guide to

Honey Production Pollination Bee Health

MALCOLM T. SANFORD
and RICHARD E. BONNEY

The mission of Storey Publishing is to serve our customers by
publishing practical information that encourages
personal independence in harmony with the environment.

Edited by Deborah Burns, Claire Golding, and Rebekah Boyd-Owens
Art direction and book design by Cynthia N. McFarland
Cover design by Kent Lew
Text production by Erin Dawson

Cover photograph by Bryan Reynolds
Illustrations by Elayne Sears, except for pages 76 and 77 (excluding dandelion) by Beverly Duncan, page 77 (dandelion)
by Sarah Brill, and page 31 by Michael Gellatly

Expert review by Dr. Hachiro Shimanuki, former research leader of the Honey Bee
Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland, and Dr. Susan Drake, faculty member in the Family
Medicine Residency at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, Tallahassee, Florida (the section
on bee stings and reactions)
Indexed by Samantha Miller

2010 by Malcolm T. Sanford
The foundation for this book is two previous works by Richard E. Bonney, Hive Management (1990)
and Beekeeping: A Practical Guide (1993)

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages or reproduce illustrations in a review with appropriate credits; nor may any part of this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other without written permission from the publisher.

The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. All recommendations are made without guarantee on the part of the author or Storey Publishing. The author and publisher disclaim any liability in connection with the use of this information.

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Printed in the United States by Versa Press
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

L IBRARY OF C ONGRESS C ATALOGING-IN -P UBLICATION D ATA

Sanford, Malcolm T. (Malcolm Thomas), 1942
Storeys guide to keeping honey bees / by Malcolm T. Sanford and
Richard E. Bonney.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-60342-550-6 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-60342-551-3 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Honeybee. 2. Bee culture. I. Bonney, Richard E. II. Title.
SF523.S36 2010
638.1dc22

2010010908

Dedication

I dedicate this book to my father,

Malcolm Elam Sanford,

who instilled in me the value of the written word.

I became the published author he longed to be.

The book is also dedicated to the honey bee.

This social insect gave me both the platform and the

training ground to distill my thoughts into as few words

as possible, while clearly communicating complex issues

to a wide audience

made up of scientists and laypersons alike.

M.T.S.

It took the assistance of a great many people to write this book. These include the scientists and curious laypersons who provided insight into honey bee biology over the last two centuries, as well as current associates in both lay and professional groups, who continue to share their knowledge and experiences with me. Thanks to the late Dick Bonney for creating the basic building blocks of the work, and to my editor Deborah Burns for her encouragement and assistance.

I especially want to express my gratitude to Dr. H. Shimanuki, friend and colleague, now retired as research leader of the Honey Bee Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland. He reviewed the material in this work, contributing to clarity in his careful and insightful way, as was his custom when we collaborated throughout our professional careers. I would also like to thank Dr. Susan Drake, faculty member in the Family Medicine Residency at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, Tallahassee, Florida, for her review of the section on bee stings and reactions.

All errors and omissions, of course, remain mine.

This volume provides a wider perspective than most of its kind through a sprinkling of new and experienced beekeepers points of view based on different geographic locations, revealing yet again that all beekeeping is local. These comments were contributed by current subscribers to my Apis electronic newsletter, in continuous publication for over two decades (transcending my active career as Cooperative Extension Apiculturist at two major universities). These unique, authentic voices cajole, persuade, empathize, and generally encourage all who would take up one of humanitys most challenging callings, culturing honey bees: Laurel Beardsley, Florida; Debbie Bohannon, Florida; Mark Beardsley, Georgia; Fred Brown, Georgia; Craig Byer, New York; Sharon A. Christ, West Virginia; Dave Cushman, United Kingdom; Lynn Davignon, Rhode Island; H. E. Garz, Washington; Debbie Gilmore, Nevada; Dave Hamilton, Nebraska; Lawrence E. Hope, California; Ben Jones, Virginia; Jeffery Maddox, Missouri; John McDonald, Pennsylvania; Jeanette Momot, Ontario; Nancy Nosewicz, New York; Robyn Parton, Florida; A.E. Ross, Florida; David Shimo, Pennsylvania; David L. Smith, Georgia; Peter Smith, United Kingdom; Bill Starrett, Ohio; Patricia (Patti) Sue Mitchell Stefaniw, Colorado; D. B. Dennis Waltrip, Florida; Paul van Westendorp, British Columbia; and Elise Wheeler, Massachusetts.

THE GENESIS OF THIS WORK WAS TWO VOLUMES originally written by Richard Bonney: Hive Management in 1990, and Beekeeping: A Practical Guide in 1994. Dick owned and operated Charlemont Apiaries in Charlemont, Massachusetts, and later taught beekeeping at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. He also served as a state apiary inspector and so had practical experience, as well as academic training, in managing honey bees. This is the perfect mix needed to write about the beekeeping craft. It is indeed unfortunate that Dick is no longer with us to continue to act as a mentor to beekeepers.

As for my background, I managed honey bees at the University of Georgia research apiary, worked for a commercial queen breeder for a time, and received extensive academic training, serving as Extension Beekeeping Specialist at both the Ohio State University (19781981) and the University of Florida (19812001). I have published articles in U.S. and international beekeeping journals, traveled widely as an apicultural consultant, and presented papers at several international beekeeping congresses. It is an honor to be selected to carry on the work of Dick Bonney by updating his previous works in this version of Storeys Guide to Keeping Honey Bees.

Beekeeping has changed a great deal since the publication of Dicks books. In addition, he wrote principally about beekeeping in the temperate portion of the United States. This reflected his considerable beekeeping experience in the Northeast, corresponding to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Plant Hardiness Zone 5, characterized by an average annual low temperature range of 5 to 10F (2 to 23C). The advice in this volume will cover a wider set of conditions as found in Zones 6 through 11. It will also necessarily look at the craft on a larger, more global scale to reflect the realities of beekeeping in the twenty-first century.